Trends and Issues in Terrorism

ISSUES IN TERRORISM

Essay 1

On the 11th of September 2001, terrorists linked to the Al-Qaeda group carried out a coordinated bombing attack in the United States, leading to the death of close to 3,000 people. On one hand, the catastrophic event opened the nation’s eyes to the threat of terrorism. In a bid to protect the nation from future terrorist attacks, the government took a series of statutory, law-enforcement, and bureaucratic actions (Department of Justice (DOJ), 2006). This text details some of these actions and outlines ways in which they have been effective or inadequate.

The most significant statutory change that took place almost immediately was the passage of the Patriotic Act by Congress, which gave law-enforcement agencies the absolute right to eavesdrop, monitor financial transactions, conduct searches without a warrant, and deport or detain suspected terrorists. Despite a series of court rulings rendering the detentions and unwarranted searches unconstitutional, the Patriotic Act was extended in 2006 to allow law-enforcement officers to use the law and technology to disrupt terrorist activities and eavesdrop on terror suspects. On the law-enforcement front, the role of the FBI was restructured to better penetrate, detect, and disrupt terrorist activities (Department of Justice, n.d). Major changes included increasing the number of linguists and analysts, establishing a central FBI National Security Branch, and creating Field Intelligence Groups in all of the FBI’s 56 field offices (Department of Justice, n.d.).

Another significant change under law-enforcement was the creation of the Department of National Security under the Justice Department in 2006 (Department of Justice, n.d.). The new division, which brought together the former Counterespionage Office, Counterterrorism Section, and the Intelligence and Policy Review Section sought to improve the efficiency of counterterrorism efforts. This resulted in improved coordination between law enforcement agencies and intelligence attorneys, lowering of the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) wall between law-enforcement and intelligence investigations, increased staffing of the FBI’s Office of Intelligence, and creation of three new sections in the Office of Intelligence for improved efficiency and workload-management (Department of Justice, n.d.). Further, the government established fusion centres to serve as primary focal points for the gathering and analysis of threat-related information among territorial, local, state, and federal partners (Department of Justice, n.d.).

The establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was one of the far-reaching bureaucratic measures enacted in response to the 9/11 attacks. The aim of the DHS was to coordinate national strategies for protecting the country against terrorism (Department of Justice, n.d.).

Generally, the changes increased the FBI’s effectiveness as intended. Through improved coordination, the FBI has been able to disrupt a good number of terrorist attacks before they occur (Department of Justice, n.d.). The changes also made it possible for law-enforcement and intelligence agencies to monitor and prevent potential threats from foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, who have constantly expressed the intent to attack the US (Wray, 2021). However, the reforms have not been effective in preventing cyber terrorism as well as they have the traditional forms of terrorism (Weimann, 2004).

In conclusion, the changes made in response to 9/11 attacks have been beneficial in increasing the effectiveness of counterterrorism efforts as well as the ability to monitor and prevent potential threats from foreign terrorist organizations. However, the government can institute more reforms to make the country more effective in preventing cyber terrorism.

References

Department of Justice (2006). The Impact of Terrorism on State Law Enforcement. National Institute of Justice Report. Retrieved from https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/216642.pdf

Department of Justice (n.d.). Structural changes to enhance counter-terrorism efforts. Department of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/archive/911/counterterrorism.html

Weimann, G. (2004). Cyber terrorism: How real is the threat? US Institute of Peace: Special Report. Retrieved from https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/sr119.pdf

Wray, C. (2021). Threats to the homeland: Evaluation the landscape 20 years after 9/11. Federal Bureau of Investigations. Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/threats-to-the-homeland-evaluating-the-landscape-20-years-after-911-wray-092121

Essay 2

The sphere of terrorism has undergone significant changes in recent decades. Consequently, governments, including the US, have been forced to respond by changing their counter terrorism strategies. This text details the factors that could have contributed to the changes in the terrorism sphere and what is likely to be the major terrorism threat over the next decade.

One of the drivers of the witnessed changes is the growing use of the internet (UNODC, 2012). Terrorists have developed ways of using the internet to spread propaganda, promote violence and extremist rhetoric, recruit minors, incite terrorist acts, conduct radicalization, and finance terrorist acts (UNODC, 2012). The use of the internet makes it increasingly difficult to trace, monitor and keep track of terrorist activities. The second factor that has driven the changes in terrorism is the evolution of terrorism from a domestic phenomenon to one that is global in both reach and scope (Shukla, 2006). Thus, terrorism has evolved into a transnational harm that threatens security at both the national and international levels (Shukla, 2006). This explains why foreign organizations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS continue to target the US despite being located miles away. Globalization has also helped enhanced the decentralization of terrorism by reducing barriers to entry and eroding the physical boundaries that traditionally separated countries and continents.